Designing Star-Fantasy Races

[Max_Killjoy]

I don't get the reference, but those are some very good ideas, I really like.

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
http://ovalkwiki.com/Artificial+Intelligence

This... is awesome. Seriously, awesome. You're really giving me confidence that this setting is something people could actually play in!

It's an entire galaxy filled with a host of varied and complex three-dimensional cultures and the toyboxes of both fantasy and space fiction... the problem isn't finding ideas for a campaign, the problem is figuring out which ones to use.

[Honest Tiefling]

Suits me just fine, they already have their own threads anyway over in the Worldbuilding forum:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...lyptic-Fantasy

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...inmail-Setting


Good point. Oath of the Pyre does make more sense that way... though, I must confess, it kind of makes me think of Dark Souls.

Is...This a good thing or a bad thing? I just can't figure out a way to get rid of bodies fast enough to prevent Necromancy that isn't fire. Also, you'd probably want fire magic on an ice world for many different reasons.

Hmm... not bad, not bad. Still... if you don't mind, I might try my own hand at them?

Of course! They definitely need refinement anyway. I think paladin oaths should be playable with a normal group for instance, and I worry these oaths aren't good for that.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

It's an entire galaxy filled with a host of varied and complex three-dimensional cultures and the toyboxes of both fantasy and space fiction... the problem isn't finding ideas for a campaign, the problem is figuring out which ones to use.

You really know how to make a guy feel confident about his work. :D I can't wait to see you guys in the other threads.

Is...This a good thing or a bad thing? I just can't figure out a way to get rid of bodies fast enough to prevent Necromancy that isn't fire. Also, you'd probably want fire magic on an ice world for many different reasons.

I only know Dark Souls from the music videos that MiracleOfSound has up on YouTube, but I think they're awesome, so no, it's no problem. Really, Dark Souls has some pretty awesome symbolism with fire as a literal metaphor for life.

Of course! They definitely need refinement anyway. I think paladin oaths should be playable with a normal group for instance, and I worry these oaths aren't good for that.

Alright, I'll try and get an alternative take on the Oath of the Pyre written up as soon as I can.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Alright, sorry this took so long, but this has been one hell of a day... gotta say, I was kind of hoping to see you guys in the other threads too...

Anyway, I took inspiration from the Oaths of Ancients and Vengeance, both of whom have more "flavorful" tenets, along with dim memories of the creed of the Raven Queen in 4th edition.

Oath of the Pyre, Draft 1
Whilst many Paladins swear oaths based on greater ideals, some paladin orders are more militant in nature. Though no less devout than their kin, paladins militant focus more on opposing some particular form of evil, viewing this as the truest wickedness to oppose.

Also known as the Oath of the Grave, Tomb or Sepulcher, depending on cultural trappings, paladins of the Oath of the Pyre seek to oppose the great defiling force that is necromancy. Often formed amidst worshippers of deities who govern the cycle of life, such as the Raven Queen or Wee Jas, these paladins - frequently known as deathslayers, tomb guards, dawnbringers and torchbearers - seek to defend the peaceful sleep of the dead and to hunt down those who break the cycle of existence. Necromancers and free-willed undead such as vampires, death knights and liches are the great enemies that these paladins seek to battle, whilst others seek out lesser undead to end their torment, or guard burial sights against invasion and defilement. Some paladins for these orders are grim and stoic, whilst others are vibrant, believing in passionately enjoying the time they have available to them. All are united by common cause.

Tenets of the Oath of the Pyre
The creed of the dawnbringers is simple and pure, focused on preserving the sanctity of death and warding against those who would defile it.

The Dead Should Sleep: When the dead rise from their graves and walk amongst the living, seek out the reason why and shepherd them back into their rest eternal.

All Things Have Their Time: Everything is born, lives, and ultimately dies. Do not seek to break this cycle for selfish reasons, nor suffer others to tear it asunder.

Fear Not The Reaper: Accept the end with dignity, when it comes, and teach others to do likewise.

Defile Not The Tomb: The sanctity of the grave is paramount. Seek to seal breaches and restore the tomb, that the dead may have their dignity.

Honor The Fallen: All shall join the ranks of the dead in time. Remember those who have fallen and treat the dead with respect.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

So, just trying to bump this out of paranoia; anything particular we should be focusing on now? It's kind of hard for me to keep track.

Also... maybe I should try drafting up the "setting handbook" for this setting, as in my Malebolge topic?

[Max_Killjoy]

When you start getting into crunch on classes, I'm a little lost... I abandoned D&D sometime in the early 3e days and haven't been back to do more than peruse a little.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

When you start getting into crunch on classes, I'm a little lost... I abandoned D&D sometime in the early 3e days and haven't been back to do more than peruse a little.

Sure, that's fair enough. Although I don't quite understand why you're bringing it up now? Apart from that long-ago attempt at statting up the first three races, everything so far has been focused on flavor-building, not anything crunchy.

[Max_Killjoy]

Sure, that's fair enough. Although I don't quite understand why you're bringing it up now? Apart from that long-ago attempt at statting up the first three races, everything so far has been focused on flavor-building, not anything crunchy.

Maybe I misread some of the posts working on the paladin variants. Was responding regarding why I hadn't posted.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Nah, the focus has been creating the tenets, which is the flavor side of the paladin concept - 5e's actually decent replacement for the ridiculous alignment restrictions of pre-4e. Speaking of which, what do you think of my efforts?

And I wonder what happened to the Honest Tiefling? Hope he hasn't broken both his ankles now...

[Max_Killjoy]

Nah, the focus has been creating the tenets, which is the flavor side of the paladin concept - 5e's actually decent replacement for the ridiculous alignment restrictions of pre-4e. Speaking of which, what do you think of my efforts?

And I wonder what happened to the Honest Tiefling? Hope he hasn't broken both his ankles now...

I don't know anything about tenets... I feel like I should maybe get a copy of 5e just so I'm not flying blind.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

I don't know anything about tenets... I feel like I should maybe get a copy of 5e just so I'm not flying blind.

That... might be helpful, yeah. I had no idea you were coming in blind. But, let me see if I can't be a little helpful - these are the canon Tenets for each of the four Oaths we've gotten so far (ignoring the Blackguard-esque subclasses):

Oath of Devotion:
Honesty: Don't lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise.

Courage: Never fear to act, though caution is wise.

Compassion: Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom.

Honor: Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm.

Duty: Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.


Oath of the Ancients:
Kindle the Light: Through your acts of mercy, kindness and forgiveness, kindle to the light of hope in the world, beating back despair.

Shelter the Light: Where there is good, beauty, love and laughter in the world, stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren.

Preserve Your Own Light: Delight in song and laughter, in beauty and art. If you allow the light to die in your own heart, you can't preserve it in the world.

Be The Light: Be a glorious beacon for all who live in despair. Let the light of your joy and courage shine forth in your deeds.


Oath of Vengeance:
Fight The Greater Evil: Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil.

No Mercy For The Wicked: Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.

By Any Means Necessary: My qualms can't get in the way of exterminating my foes.

Restitution: If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.


Oath of the Crown:
Law: The law is paramount. It is the mortar that holds the stones of civilization together, and it must be respected.

Loyalty: Your word is your bond. Without loyalty, oaths and laws are meaningless.

Courage: You must be willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of order, even in the face of overwhelming odds. If you don't act, who will?

Responsibility: You must deal with the consequences of your actions, and you are responsible for fulfilling your duties and obligations.


So, I should really try and make some sort of organized write-up of all the things we've established in this thread so far, shouldn't I? Maybe see if that can't help narrow down what we're missing, like how space travel can be done?

[Max_Killjoy]

That... might be helpful, yeah. I had no idea you were coming in blind. But, let me see if I can't be a little helpful - these are the canon Tenets for each of the four Oaths we've gotten so far (ignoring the Blackguard-esque subclasses):

Spoiler: MK -- tucked these in here to keep the thread tidy

Show

Oath of Devotion:
Honesty: Don't lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise.

Courage: Never fear to act, though caution is wise.

Compassion: Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom.

Honor: Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm.

Duty: Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.


Oath of the Ancients:
Kindle the Light: Through your acts of mercy, kindness and forgiveness, kindle to the light of hope in the world, beating back despair.

Shelter the Light: Where there is good, beauty, love and laughter in the world, stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren.

Preserve Your Own Light: Delight in song and laughter, in beauty and art. If you allow the light to die in your own heart, you can't preserve it in the world.

Be The Light: Be a glorious beacon for all who live in despair. Let the light of your joy and courage shine forth in your deeds.


Oath of Vengeance:
Fight The Greater Evil: Faced with a choice of fighting my sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil.

No Mercy For The Wicked: Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not.

By Any Means Necessary: My qualms can't get in the way of exterminating my foes.

Restitution: If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.


Oath of the Crown:
Law: The law is paramount. It is the mortar that holds the stones of civilization together, and it must be respected.

Loyalty: Your word is your bond. Without loyalty, oaths and laws are meaningless.

Courage: You must be willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of order, even in the face of overwhelming odds. If you don't act, who will?

Responsibility: You must deal with the consequences of your actions, and you are responsible for fulfilling your duties and obligations.

So, I should really try and make some sort of organized write-up of all the things we've established in this thread so far, shouldn't I? Maybe see if that can't help narrow down what we're missing, like how space travel can be done?

Thank you for the summaries -- that at least gives me an idea. (Sadly, there are no official PDFs of the 5e PH, and the online material just gives the one Oath for the Paladin.)

The details of space travel, FTL, space combat, etc, were on my list of things to ask about.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Thank you for the summaries -- that at least gives me an idea. (Sadly, there are no official PDFs of the 5e PH, and the online material just gives the one Oath for the Paladin.)

The details of space travel, FTL, space combat, etc, were on my list of things to ask about.

Well... I don't know how much of this I'm allowed to say, but I suggest checking on 4chan's /tg/ board. You may find a thread for 5e that can help.

As for the details of space travel... well, I don't particularly have anything solid yet. I know that vessels are the norm, but on the other hand, I also like the image of various magical creatures that can literally be ridden between the stars - that's a very 80s motif, isn't it? To have celestial steeds or winged drakes or other, weirder beasties (remember Silverhawks, where the big bad rode a half-motorcycle half-space squid?) just feels... right, wouldn't you agree?

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Alright, let's see about starting off that booklet/note summary...

Star-Raiders Prelude & Key Design Notes:
Stretching into infinity like a sea of starlight, the Galaxy of Aether abounds in wonder and terror, beauty and madness. Untold races claim this meta-realm as their home, some traveling freely between the worlds, most locked forever into a blessedly ignorant obliviousness as to the wider realms beyond their birthworld. But, from one end of the galaxy to the next, from the shining WorldShips of the Jirall to the shadowy courts of the Aelfar, from the peaceful paradises of the Verdant Expanse to the benighted, ruin-choked worlds of the Ghoul Stars, there are those who look to the stars with determination and drive. Whether out of nobility or avarice, cruelty or curiosity, these souls seek to leave their old lives behind and step forth into Aether, to seek out the strange and the new, the lost and the ancient. These people, no matter their race, have the drive to become Star-Raiders...

A Galaxy Fantastic: The Galaxy of Aether is a space opera setting, where the normal rules of science, technology and nature do not apply. Civilizations may occupy flat worlds, or planet-sized trees adrift in the void. Castles float on the horizon of dying stars and orbit crumbling worlds. Elegant vessels sail solar winds, and space-faring reavers ride star-drakes whilst brandishing chain-axe and blaze-pistol. The stars are made of wonder and magic, and never shackle themselves to the mundanities of other, more earthly galaxies.

One Man, In The Right Place And Time, Can Move Worlds: Great and mighty are the powers that be in Aether, but none so monolithic as to be invincible. A bold, true adventurer can effect great changes, if they have the courage to step forward, the wisdom to know when to strike, and the power to bring their strike home.

Nothing Lasts Forever: Aether is a place of motion and turmoil. That which has stood for centuries today may be toppled and reduced to dust on the wind tomorrow. No matter how mighty the empires of the present, all are built upon the ruins of those that came before them, and some day, they too shall be the foundation for powers new.

Mysteries Abound: Through time and strife, through conspiracy and heresy, and a thousand causes besides, the Aether is a galaxy abounding in ancient ruins and long-lost secrets. Beyond the know stars lie countless worlds, unseen and unheard by the greater galaxy, further shrouding knowledge in the cloak of ignorance.

Opportunities and Threats: In a galaxy so vast and yet so untouched, there are endless dangers, but equally endless potential. Pirate kings gather the loot of a thousand world. Whole planets are lost to armies of the restless dead. A butcher's son can become the king of an empire that stretches across the stars, or be food for some void-stalking horror.

Science is Sorcery: Though the denizens of Aether may wield what looks like technologies at a glance, science is just another form of sorcery. Mighty clockwork engines pull motive force from solar winds or the galactic leylines, filigreed handles turn magical energy into cutting plasma or bolts of force, beings of metal and cogs bear hearts and souls - no matter how scientific something may appear, sorcery lies at its heart.

Power Flows To Those Who Wield It: Great are the rewards to be had from exploring the Aether. Wealth, power, glory, fame and fortune are there to be had by those driven to seize them. Become a blessing or a curse, a savior or a destroyer; be what you will, but if you have the strength, you will find all your dreams come true.

Death Claims The Weak: Great are the rewards, but so too are the risks. For every soul that finds its fortune, a thousand more plunge shrieking into the ever-night. Gamble with your life if you will, but know that the house always holds the ace.


Aelfar Notes:
* Visually and thematically are "space elves", but mechanically have evolved beyond that.
* Extensive fleshcrafting and necrocrafting based proficiency has had many influences on their culture.
* Aelfar are genderfluid; whilst they technically operate under a matriarchal social structure, with reverence given to "mothers" (defined as "individuals who have successfully given birth to biological offspring), their gender identity, gender titles and physical gender have no direct correlation to each other.
* In fact, aelfar genders translate into common most accurately as "Maiden, Mother and Crone".
* Aelfar society organizes itself into "houses", matriarchal extended families descending from a single leader.
* Aelfar society is technically one made entirely of aristocrats; there are differences in rank, but all manual labor is carried out by flesh-crafted slave-races, giving the aelfar a endless time to concentrate on political intrigue.
* Due to their belief that they are the masters of life and death, aelfar do not get on with most other races, being prone as a culture to doing everything from treating them like children (at best) to treating them like resources, although the attitudes towards the latter end of the spectrum are generally discouraged.
* Because of their skill at healing and reanimating, aelfar have a much more casual attitude towards death than other races do.
* Their skills have made aelfar quite skeptical of undeath; they do not immortality through undeath, and becoming a sapient undead will disempower an aelfar in society forever more.
* The primary way of cheating death when their life-extension treatments fail is to transfer their soul into an artificially grown aelfar body. Legally, this new body is a new individual, which means falls to the very bottom of aelfar society; it has the same basic rights as any aelfar, but retains no wealth, no power, no political influence.
* Central to the ideal of aelfar society is the importance of family, which they define directly through blood ties. A single drop of blood is all it takes to legally claim a position amongst the aelfar race.
* Aelfar enjoy war as a great entertainment. This pits them frequently against the expansionist efforts of the Aurian Empire, and gives them a certain love-hate relationship with the traggen.


Kixian Notes:
* An insectoid race who evolved on a jungle-like death world that happened to be rich in reagents and mutagens useful in flesh-crafting, the kixians developed an instinctive knack for bio-modding.
* A social species, kixians are monogamy-preferring breeders who form tight social groups called "packs" during adolescence, which work together to support each other, including helping breeding members of the pack raise children.
* Their mutual use of flesh-crafting has led to an unusually strong bond between kixians and aelfar, although the latter can take a somewhat patronizingly "maternal" outlook that the kixians privately find annoying.
* Exposure to the wider galaxy and the prevalence of the humanoid form has led to philosophy-based modding of the kixian race, dividing them into three subraces based on how much they feel they should change their bodies to match what is clearly a more universally useful design.


Jarill Notes:
* Conceptually, can be described as one part Quarian and one part Craftworld Eldar.
* Humanoid monotremes who were forced to flee their homeworld when their sun cooled with unnatural (by stellar standards) speeds, rendering it an icy tomb.
* Now exist in enormous fleets centered on planetoid-sized "WorldShips", which roam freely through the cosmos.
* Masters of arcanotechnology - the science-aspected sorcery of producing magical artifacts and items, which they use to secure trading rights wherever they go.
* Cultural belief is big on personal modesty; a face is something to be reserved for the most intimate of moments. Always go masked, and wear concealing robes or body-suits, depending on context.
* Prehensile tails are an important tool in their work, and a key part of their body language.
* Create artificial entities, "Exo-Daemons", more or less as magitek familiars. The mightiest of these, those responsible for running the WorldShips, are effectively man-made gods.


Paxian Notes:
* Ancient, peaceful race of humanoid plants.
* Were once a mighty empire, but fell from power and glory; are only just starting to make a resurgence.
* View themselves as "tenders of the galactic garden", due to their special affinity for sensing, tapping into and manipulating the galactic leylines. Seek to promote diplomacy, peace, understanding and harmony wherever they go.
* Take up a more sessile form in order to reproduce, which can only be done in places where the leyline energy is strong - usually a nexus of at least two leylines.


Drossian Notes:
* Barbaric, carnivorous offshoot race of the Paxians.
* Engineered themselves to be more warlike during "The Fall", but it backfired and reduced them to bloodthirsty savages.


Aurian Empire Notes:
* Ruled over by the "God Emperors" - five powerful figures based on Pathfinder's five species of Imperial Dragon.
* Chinese style bureaucratic empire; Emperors are on top, bureaucracy keeps everything running harmoniously, other races have their place.
* Rujin and Ki'rinii races were created from the Aurians as direct enforcers, making them the most valuable races.
* Embraces the "Oriental Adventures in Space" motif and mixes it with being "The Beastfolk Faction"; various vassal races are Oriental-themed/flavored beastman races, such as kitsunes, tanuki, hakutaku, mezu, etc.
* Borrows slightly from the T'au Empire; have a self-proclaimed Manifest Destiny to conquer the galaxy, but genuinely believe that they will do good things by doing so.
* Need to more closely examine and discuss the empire's vast array of vassal races.


Vanadiran Notes:
* Magically crafted daughters of the last few survivors of an ancient race of draconic felines; these "Clan-Mothers" are essentially demigods, who rule over the race's homeworld (Vanadira?)
* The Clan-Mothers literally give birth to their children, which cements a close bond.
* The vanadirans themselves can be described as "neo-barbarian catgirl amazons" - Amazonian, muscular human(ish) women with fur-covered, digitigrade legs ending in paw-like feet, cat-like ears atop their heads, a cat's tail at the base of their spine, slit-pupiled eyes that glow in the dark, cute little fangs, clawed fingers, wild-growing hair that sprouts from the shoulders and neck as well as the head, 80s style neon coloring.
* Vanadirans believe that their purpose is to thank their clan-mothers by leading interesting lives; they fight ceremonial wars amongst each other and go out to become adventurers or bandits in order to be able to create entertaining stories.
* Vanadirans may perhaps use hair length as a status symbol? The longer one's locks, the more skilled one is, because they've gone so long without getting it sheared off by a victorious rival?
* The vanadirans themselves can reproduce with males from other races, but can't produce males of their own race - they lack the right chromosomes. Xeno-fathered pregnancies with almost always produce a vanadiran daughter, or else a child (either sex, slightly favoring female births) of the father's race.

[Honest Tiefling]

Sorry, was busy for a bit. I think we were on clerics/paladins/druids last we checked? Through I did pitch the idea of a Harvester Druid (An Oni/Oni-kin druid who feasted on the sap of a Veshy to obtain power), not sure if that was accepted yet.

Through that does bring us to the question of, what are those guys like? They're Space Orcs, but I think we can go a little farther then that. We can keep the bulk of them as space pirates/raiders, but I do wonder about a faction of civilized Traggenkin to show that the race is more dimensional.

Also, what are the slave races of the Aelfar? Player races? Some non-sapient race? Weaker races that are technically playable? Might be good material for a DM or someone looking for a build challenge.

And given the Origin of Vanadiran, let's call their homeworld...Frayir. Having people come from a country/planet named after their race has always bugged the crap out of me unless there is a good reason.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Sorry, was busy for a bit. I think we were on clerics/paladins/druids last we checked? Through I did pitch the idea of a Harvester Druid (An Oni/Oni-kin druid who feasted on the sap of a Veshy to obtain power), not sure if that was accepted yet.

We sort of tend to drift randomly from topic to topic; mostly, I've been waiting for you to get back and comment on all the things I brought up the last time you were here. For example, the redrafted Oath of the Pyre Tenets.

And I'm pretty sure I said I could see "Harvesters" as Druids - a new Circle or not - who stem from traggenkin who drink Veshy sap to mutate themselves and gain access to the leylines.

Through that does bring us to the question of, what are those guys like? They're Space Orcs, but I think we can go a little farther then that. We can keep the bulk of them as space pirates/raiders, but I do wonder about a faction of civilized Traggenkin to show that the race is more dimensional.

That's kind of what the Dworg are supposed to be, but yeah, discussing Traggen, Dworg and maybe Oni is definitely a goal to set.

Also, what are the slave races of the Aelfar? Player races? Some non-sapient race? Weaker races that are technically playable? Might be good material for a DM or someone looking for a build challenge.

Mostly, an excuse for DMs to slot in races to the setting, either as PCs or monsters. For example, "Moldies" (renamed Vegepygmies) are a aelfar slave-race that went wrong and became a galactic nuisance - sort of a space zombie plague that crops up wherever the DM thinks is appropriate, you follow me?

And given the Origin of Vanadiran, let's call their homeworld...Frayir. Having people come from a country/planet named after their race has always bugged the crap out of me unless there is a good reason.

Frayir sounds like a good name to me.

[Max_Killjoy]

Brainstorming, maybe have different means of FTL travel for different cultures/species.

• Travel the leylines between points in space.
• A web of warpgates / wormholes (might be one and the same as the above).
• A drive that slips the ship into another "level" of reality/space, and has a visual effect like submerging a submarine, including the ability to "peek" back into normal space like using a periscope.
• Spacefolding, requires powerful magic to warp the fabric of space and time.
• Navigator-mages using a "wish engine" (Like, the wish spell, "I wish we were at ______")
• Straight up teleportation.
• Chaos-drives, drop the ship into another dimension; points in the other dimension move around, so that they're "next to" random parts of normal space, and moving to the right points to get to the places you want to go takes a special gift that only rare people have -- no one else really understands or can even stand to directly experience the other dimension, so other crew and passengers never "look out the window"

[Max_Killjoy]

As for the details of space travel... well, I don't particularly have anything solid yet. I know that vessels are the norm, but on the other hand, I also like the image of various magical creatures that can literally be ridden between the stars - that's a very 80s motif, isn't it? To have celestial steeds or winged drakes or other, weirder beasties (remember Silverhawks, where the big bad rode a half-motorcycle half-space squid?) just feels... right, wouldn't you agree?

I'm suddenly thinking of Lobo riding a "chopper" through space.

The nature of space itself has to be different from reality to really make this sort of thing feasible -- just to "ride" to Earth's moon is equivalent to riding around Earth's equator almost 10 times. To "ride" from here to the nearest star is about 933 million times around the equator.

It's your setting, never let my hyper-analytical nature discourage the "zeitgeist" you want for it, but understand where it needs to be fundamentally different.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

I'm suddenly thinking of Lobo riding a "chopper" through space.

The nature of space itself has to be different from reality to really make this sort of thing feasible -- just to "ride" to Earth's moon is equivalent to riding around Earth's equator almost 10 times. To "ride" from here to the nearest star is about 933 million times around the equator.

It's your setting, never let my hyper-analytical nature discourage the "zeitgeist" you want for it, but understand where it needs to be fundamentally different.

Thanks... I think? I'm not entirely sure if you're respecting my wishes or gently chastising me for them here...

Brainstorming, maybe have different means of FTL travel for different cultures/species.

• Travel the leylines between points in space.
• A web of warpgates / wormholes (might be one and the same as the above).
• A drive that slips the ship into another "level" of reality/space, and has a visual effect like submerging a submarine, including the ability to "peek" back into normal space like using a periscope.
• Spacefolding, requires powerful magic to warp the fabric of space and time.
• Navigator-mages using a "wish engine" (Like, the wish spell, "I wish we were at ______")
• Straight up teleportation.
• Chaos-drives, drop the ship into another dimension; points in the other dimension move around, so that they're "next to" random parts of normal space, and moving to the right points to get to the places you want to go takes a special gift that only rare people have -- no one else really understands or can even stand to directly experience the other dimension, so other crew and passengers never "look out the window"

Alright, after giving it some thought, here's the system for FTL that I'm currently envisioning:

At its base, as a D&D setting, this universe is based on Magic, not Physics - the stars, for example, are enormous masses of pure Radiant energy that emanate from one-way portals out of the Elemental Chaos. The eventual healing of the portal is what causes a star to cool and shrink before dying. Black holes are enormous, unstable planar gates that can lead to anywhere in the multiverse, from the "planes we know" to parallel realities and more. Of course, being unstable means you're not very likely to survive the trip through the black hole in the first place.

The universe is suffused with a "luminiferous aether", a mystical substance - closest probably to plasma, if you had to compare it to any real-world element - that emanates from the Twisting Nether and permeates the material plane. This substance - let's call it the Phlogiston - travels many times faster than mere light does. The standard form of space travel is to attenuate one's physical mass to phlogiston, allowing one to move through it by partially de-synching one's self with the material universe.

"Starbeasts" can do this instinctively, a natural arcano-biological trait. Starjammers (a generic term for space-faring vessels) do this through the use of enchanted devices built into the vessel itself.

There are two ways of synching with the phlogiston. "Skimming" involves only lightly grasping the phlogiston, just enough to move at intense speeds. This is the slowest form of FTL in the setting - think of it as being analogous to the space-faring parts of Mass Effect 2, 3 and Andromeda - this is your "in-system travel speed". "Diving", as the name suggests, is to immerse one's vessel much deeper in the phlogiston. In this state, one's vessel exists halfway between the material plane and the nether plane; this drastically increases speed compared to skimming, but has its own drawbacks. For one, it's still comparatively slow - compare to the FTL method used in MEA to get from the Milky Way to Andromeda. It makes inter-system travel possible, but is not the fastest way of doing so, more or less akin to Warp Speed or Hyperspace from Star Trek and Star Wars. Secondly, it's not combat viable; taking damage whilst phlog-diving is extremely dangerous because of how it can disrupt the magical field; at best, you'd end up teleported to a random spot in the multiverse. At worst, your fragments will be scattered across the multiverse in a very quick but very painful death.

Phlogiston-travel is the norm throughout the galaxy. Miniaturization, though, is a problem; making the arcanotech you need to synch with the phlogiston is easy enough, but compacting it? That's harder. For example, if you want an analogue to Vulture's wing-pack from Spiderman: Homecoming that can phlog-skim? You'd need to be about as rich as Tony Stark. Want one that can phlog-dive? ...You could buy an Earth-like planet for that much. Personal, artificial phlog-capable transports are very much a sign of the wealthy and powerful; trained starbeasts are more common.

For much quicker travel, one uses Rift-Gates. These are, essentially, gargantuan, space-based teleportation circles that the various galactic powers create. These allow ships to instantly travel from one Rift-Gate to the other. Of course, one can only go between the gates that are linked to the network (and each network is normally guarded, to prevent sabotage by their enemies), and creating them takes a lot of time and money.

There are also Warp-Thrones; ship-based arcanotech that essentially allows a ship to teleport without needing a Rift-Gate. This is pretty much lost technology, so the only ships with this kind of tech are ancient relics from The Before Ages - or the Jarill WorldShips, but they guard access to Warp-Throne technology very carefully. Even then, blindly teleporting is a very dangerous gamble, so it's main use is in systems where you're familiar with the layout of the land.

These factors all contribute to make interstellar travel possible, but keep the galaxy a place of mystery and wonder; the uncharted regions aren't easy to get to, and even traveling between charted territory isn't perfectly instantaneous. Lot of plot materials that way, don't you think?

So, what do you all think?

[Max_Killjoy]

Thanks... I think? I'm not entirely sure if you're respecting my wishes or gently chastising me for them here...

Very much the respecting.

And pointing out that sometimes, by my nature, I'm going to drain the magic out of something by analyzing it to death.

Alright, after giving it some thought, here's the system for FTL that I'm currently envisioning:

At its base, as a D&D setting, this universe is based on Magic, not Physics - the stars, for example, are enormous masses of pure Radiant energy that emanate from one-way portals out of the Elemental Chaos. The eventual healing of the portal is what causes a star to cool and shrink before dying. Black holes are enormous, unstable planar gates that can lead to anywhere in the multiverse, from the "planes we know" to parallel realities and more. Of course, being unstable means you're not very likely to survive the trip through the black hole in the first place.

The universe is suffused with a "luminiferous aether", a mystical substance - closest probably to plasma, if you had to compare it to any real-world element - that emanates from the Twisting Nether and permeates the material plane. This substance - let's call it the Phlogiston - travels many times faster than mere light does. The standard form of space travel is to attenuate one's physical mass to phlogiston, allowing one to move through it by partially de-synching one's self with the material universe.

"Starbeasts" can do this instinctively, a natural arcano-biological trait. Starjammers (a generic term for space-faring vessels) do this through the use of enchanted devices built into the vessel itself.

There are two ways of synching with the phlogiston. "Skimming" involves only lightly grasping the phlogiston, just enough to move at intense speeds. This is the slowest form of FTL in the setting - think of it as being analogous to the space-faring parts of Mass Effect 2, 3 and Andromeda - this is your "in-system travel speed". "Diving", as the name suggests, is to immerse one's vessel much deeper in the phlogiston. In this state, one's vessel exists halfway between the material plane and the nether plane; this drastically increases speed compared to skimming, but has its own drawbacks. For one, it's still comparatively slow - compare to the FTL method used in MEA to get from the Milky Way to Andromeda. It makes inter-system travel possible, but is not the fastest way of doing so, more or less akin to Warp Speed or Hyperspace from Star Trek and Star Wars. Secondly, it's not combat viable; taking damage whilst phlog-diving is extremely dangerous because of how it can disrupt the magical field; at best, you'd end up teleported to a random spot in the multiverse. At worst, your fragments will be scattered across the multiverse in a very quick but very painful death.

Phlogiston-travel is the norm throughout the galaxy. Miniaturization, though, is a problem; making the arcanotech you need to synch with the phlogiston is easy enough, but compacting it? That's harder. For example, if you want an analogue to Vulture's wing-pack from Spiderman: Homecoming that can phlog-skim? You'd need to be about as rich as Tony Stark. Want one that can phlog-dive? ...You could buy an Earth-like planet for that much. Personal, artificial phlog-capable transports are very much a sign of the wealthy and powerful; trained starbeasts are more common.

For much quicker travel, one uses Rift-Gates. These are, essentially, gargantuan, space-based teleportation circles that the various galactic powers create. These allow ships to instantly travel from one Rift-Gate to the other. Of course, one can only go between the gates that are linked to the network (and each network is normally guarded, to prevent sabotage by their enemies), and creating them takes a lot of time and money.

There are also Warp-Thrones; ship-based arcanotech that essentially allows a ship to teleport without needing a Rift-Gate. This is pretty much lost technology, so the only ships with this kind of tech are ancient relics from The Before Ages - or the Jarill WorldShips, but they guard access to Warp-Throne technology very carefully. Even then, blindly teleporting is a very dangerous gamble, so it's main use is in systems where you're familiar with the layout of the land.

These factors all contribute to make interstellar travel possible, but keep the galaxy a place of mystery and wonder; the uncharted regions aren't easy to get to, and even traveling between charted territory isn't perfectly instantaneous. Lot of plot materials that way, don't you think?

So, what do you all think?

I'll mull it over some more.

First thought, I'm happy that the Jarill are the ones with the "teleportation" tech, it gives them another edge to explain their free movement and self-sovereignty in a galaxy full of secret-science control-freak superstates, marauding warmongers, and catpeople.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

First thought, I'm happy that the Jarill are the ones with the "teleportation" tech, it gives them another edge to explain their free movement and self-sovereignty in a galaxy full of secret-science control-freak superstates, marauding warmongers, and catpeople.

I have to confess, I find it hilarious that alongside the traggen, aelfar and aurians, you mention vanadirans as one of the great and terrible threats that this galaxy has to offer. :P

[Max_Killjoy]

I have to confess, I find it hilarious that alongside the traggen, aelfar and aurians, you mention vanadirans as one of the great and terrible threats that this galaxy has to offer. :P

The humor was somewhat intentional... plus they're heavy-metal-catgirls, they're dangerous as hell, man.

On the subject of riding starbeasts and the nature of space... what's the air situation?

You mention ships... given the feel you're going for, I'm guessing these aren't "age of sail" looking things? Since you've heard of the Tau, have you looked at Battlefleet Gothic? The aesthetic of some of those ships might fit what you're going for on some of the cultures.

I'm trying to find images of ships I saw somewhere that where long and angular and pointy all over and had big triangular "rigging" sticking off, that might also fit the spacerock heavy metal look you want.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

The humor was somewhat intentional... plus they're heavy-metal-catgirls, they're dangerous as hell, man.

Hah! Too true. You know, maybe it'd be helpful if I started putting together "codexes" for the Jarill and Vanadirans at least? Like... check out my Malebolge topic, you'll see what I mean.

On the subject of riding starbeasts and the nature of space... what's the air situation?

My kneejerk reaction is that, by default, there's no air in space. Starbeasts have the ability to "breathe" phlogiston, but bestowing this on a rider is a rare trait. For the most part, you need magic, either in the form of a potion (ala Lovecraft's Byakhees and Space-Mead, at least in Call of Cthulhu) or a talisman. It's another reason why star-ships are the dominant form of travel; much easier to install air-generators into them.

You mention ships... given the feel you're going for, I'm guessing these aren't "age of sail" looking things? Since you've heard of the Tau, have you looked at Battlefleet Gothic? The aesthetic of some of those ships might fit what you're going for on some of the cultures.

I'm trying to find images of ships I saw somewhere that where long and angular and pointy all over and had big triangular "rigging" sticking off, that might also fit the spacerock heavy metal look you want.

I'm familiar with Battlefleet Gothic, to an extent, and yeah, some of them could fit. I think the Dominion Ships of 4e's "Secrets of the Plane Above" are a good basis to start from as well, since whilst they do have an obvious "boat" basis, they look designed for traveling through the sea of stars as well. Unfortunately, my google-fu is weak, so I can't show them to you.

[Honest Tiefling]

The humor was somewhat intentional... plus they're heavy-metal-catgirls, they're dangerous as hell, man.

I for one, would be very sad if the pink mohawked cat-women with leopard print 80's fashion were NOT a major threat.

As for space travel, I think it's better to work backwards. We need to strike a balance between having a fleet show up whenever the PCs decide to play Space Pirate, and having to spend months near the same dang planet. And the fact that the PCs and anyone with any sense of tactics would be tempted to sacrifice thousands of lives to get a hold of a Warp Throne.

Suggestions:
1) Phlogiston/Aether (The latter was space air in Lovecraft, I think?) allows FTL travel, but travelling between star systems is still slow, to explain why space piracy is still a thing.
2) Need some sort of 'Impluse Drive' ala Star Trek for shorter voyages
3) Rift gates exist...But the name rift implies a portal somewhere. Maybe an additional issue is that well, it sorta maybe kinda goes through a nasty dimension so only very well-made, maintained ships with a skillful crew can successfully use them. Other ships risk damage, destruction and showing up in the wrong spot. But what race would control them? I nominate the Veshy. They're peaceful, neutral and probably smart enough to levy the gates to get people to calm down and listen to diplomacy. Else, I'd say the Jarill is the best option, due to their technomancy. Or split the difference, and have the Veshy have naturally occurring plant rift gates on planets, and the Jarill figured out a way to make giant space ones because **** planets.
4) Warp Thrones should exist, but in my opinion not be operational at the beginning of the campaign. Let them be legendary loot one spends a campaign

As for the notes I missed...

1) Kixians are Monogamous...Why? As a contrast to the Aelfar, who probably have the Matriarchs take on many different lovers for genetic diversity in their offspring?

2) Veshy and Traggen-Kin need to be tackled next.

3) I think we need a better write up on the Aurians. I forget if we were going with the soul magic option or not. They seem VERY complex.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

I for one, would be very sad if the pink mohawked cat-women with leopard print 80's fashion were NOT a major threat.

I can't tell if you're joking or not here...

As for space travel, I think it's better to work backwards. We need to strike a balance between having a fleet show up whenever the PCs decide to play Space Pirate, and having to spend months near the same dang planet. And the fact that the PCs and anyone with any sense of tactics would be tempted to sacrifice thousands of lives to get a hold of a Warp Throne.

I do agree that, in general, things operating at the Speed of Plot is best. We want the options that facilitate Plot, not hinder it.

Suggestions:
1) Phlogiston/Aether (The latter was space air in Lovecraft, I think?) allows FTL travel, but travelling between star systems is still slow, to explain why space piracy is still a thing.

...You mean, exactly like what I said the standard Phlogiston-drives already accomplish?

2) Need some sort of 'Impluse Drive' ala Star Trek for shorter voyages

...Again, do you mean like the "skimming" method of phlogiston sailing, which is literally "as fast as the player's ship in the planet-to-planet segments of Mass Effect"? That's the whole point of it; to be a "slow" FTL speed for planet-to-planet travel.

3) Rift gates exist...But the name rift implies a portal somewhere. Maybe an additional issue is that well, it sorta maybe kinda goes through a nasty dimension so only very well-made, maintained ships with a skillful crew can successfully use them. Other ships risk damage, destruction and showing up in the wrong spot. But what race would control them? I nominate the Veshy. They're peaceful, neutral and probably smart enough to levy the gates to get people to calm down and listen to diplomacy. Else, I'd say the Jarill is the best option, due to their technomancy. Or split the difference, and have the Veshy have naturally occurring plant rift gates on planets, and the Jarill figured out a way to make giant space ones because **** planets.

Eh... no, I don't think so. The whole point of Rift-Gates as I created them was to be a safe, stable way of easily getting around the galaxy at high speeds, ala the Mass Relays.

That's not to say they're entirely risk free. After all, you need to guard them against saboteurs; don't want an enemy hacking into your network so they can teleport through your network into your backyard. Or shut the network down. Or destabilize the gates so they turn into black holes, or huge portals to another plane.

All of the major galactic powers - the Veshy, the Aurians, the Aelfar - they've got their own separate networks.

4) Warp Thrones should exist, but in my opinion not be operational at the beginning of the campaign. Let them be legendary loot one spends a campaign

Which is pretty much exactly what I said a few posts above; they're literally Legendary tier loot. You're not getting your hands on one by default unless that's the campaign's key plot hook. The Jarill won't share their tech, nobody else can make them, so you gotta find them.

As for the notes I missed...

1) Kixians are Monogamous...Why? As a contrast to the Aelfar, who probably have the Matriarchs take on many different lovers for genetic diversity in their offspring?

Pretty sure we established this a couple of pages ago? I think mostly it was to avoid the cliche of mantids practicing sexual and internecine cannibalism.

2) Veshy and Traggen-Kin need to be tackled next.

True... I don't know, maybe it'd be better if we picked one race at a time, covered all that needed figuring out, and I did up a Codex - literally a "Player's Guide to X" writeup - for that race before moving on?

Personally, I'd prefer to tackle the Jarill or Vanadirans first with such a treatment, just because they're the most interesting to me at this point in time.

3) I think we need a better write up on the Aurians. I forget if we were going with the soul magic option or not. They seem VERY complex.

Yeah, the aurians were honestly a little hard to sum up. I forgot some stuff and... well, their conversation's been a bit of a mess. Don't suppose one of you would care to make a better cliff-notes summary?

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

So, I was doing a little mental planning of the Vanadiran codex and, long story short, does anyone know the name of the art style that Frank Frazetta, artist for a lot of Conan pinups & covers, used? I just think it'd be really fitting if that style of artwork, alongside the "pin-up pieces" in the back of many Conan comics, was the primary art style favored by Vanadiran painters, since "space pirate neo-barbarian catgirls" could practically come out of a pulp fantasy novel themselves.

[Max_Killjoy]

So, I was doing a little mental planning of the Vanadiran codex and, long story short, does anyone know the name of the art style that Frank Frazetta, artist for a lot of Conan pinups & covers, used? I just think it'd be really fitting if that style of artwork, alongside the "pin-up pieces" in the back of many Conan comics, was the primary art style favored by Vanadiran painters, since "space pirate neo-barbarian catgirls" could practically come out of a pulp fantasy novel themselves.

I haven't been able to find an "official" name for Frank Frazetta's style of art. It's oil paints on canvas, with some specific techniques.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Ah, well, thank you for looking, Max_Killjoy.

In the spirit of doing something useful, here's a more in-depth examination of the Aurian Empire... I will try to denominate clearly aspects that are things I am unsure of and want to discuss in greater detail, but, for now, take this as "fact" about the empire proper.

I can and will discuss and potentially change establish facts, if you guys call me out on something that you feel could be changed or should be changed or whatever. This is just the current draft and open to revision, you follow me?

I wanted to get everything done in one post, but I'm fading out over here, so I posted the first two segments - I'll write & post the Vassal Races segment when I wake up.


The Aurian Empire
A Brief Overview
The Aurian Empire is unique amongst the "powers" of the galaxy in that it is not a mono-racial faction.

The Aurian Empire refers to a group of five demi-divine dragons - in Pathfinder terms, a group of Great Wyrm Imperial Dragons, one from each of the five species, all with Mythic Ranks - who have established themselves as "God-Emperors" over a fairly vast swathe of the galaxy.

The Aurian Empire is an overarching culture, but it is is not, strictly speaking, a "race" in the way that Jarill or Aelfar or Vanadirans are.

The Aurian Empire's overarching theme is "Oriental Adventures", or what TVtropes would call "Far East" - a Cultural Chop-Suey of Japanese and Chinese themes, with other Southeast Asian elements for flavoring.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FarEast

It's secondary theme is "Beastfolk", as the most recogizable and PC-suitable yokai tend to be obake and hengeyokai. That's not to say that we can't add other yokai to the vassal races, if we can pull them off - for example, Tsukumogami-based Living Construct races...

Its tertiary theme is "Morally Gray Adversary" - their culture's sense of Manifest Destiny makes them easy to use for antagonistic purposes, but they're not pure evil and should have admirable, even good potrayals as possible. You can certainly play as an Aurian rebel or would-be reformer... but an Aurian Loyalist PC or even campaign shouldn't be impossible either.


Imperial Society
The fundamental "style" of the Aurian Empire is more or less based on medieval China: the God-Emperors on top, and a caste-based system below, with every caste having its designated place (farmer, soldier, merchant, etc) and an enormous and powerful bureaucracy that helps keep the empire running.

This "Celestial Bureaucracy" motif goes all the way to the top; to borrow some Japanese terminology, not only are the Daimyos of Underworld, Forest, Sea and Sky in charge of different aspects of the empire, they all are ultimately subordinate to the wishes of the Shogun of Heaven.

The God-Emperors as a whole can be summed up as "Well Intentioned Extremists". They wish to bring peace, order and harmony to the galaxy... and the best way to do that, they have decided, is to conquer the galaxy and make other races either learn to fit into their place or be destroyed.

Manifest Destiny is a cornerstone of imperial society, as a result of this. Compare them to the T'au from Warhammer 40,000: good intentions, kind of arrogant, can be blinded by their own holiness - or just indoctrinated, depending on precise place in the empire.

Cultural assimilation is preferred to annihilation. Although the Emperors do demand deification from their subjects, they have realized over long centuries that forcing a total cultural erasure tends to merely delay assimilation. As such, official imperial policy is that conquered peoples are allowed to maintain as many of their original cultural traits as possible, so long as these do not contradict with mandatory imperial culture.

Particularly, in religious practices, whilst some extremists do push a more hardline interpretation, policy from the Emperors themselves is that the faithful merely need to insert the Emperors into their existing pantheon at the top. The Emperor of Forest would rather a conquered people be educated to see their existing nature gods as his direct servants than have to butcher them until they forsake their old gods in favor of him exclusively.

The Emperors maintain a stranglehold on magical power in the Aurian Empire. Aurians are taught that magic flows from the God-Emperors, and that all of its powers are only availible because the Emperors have generously gifted them to the galaxy.

For this reason, Clerics proliferate in the Aurian Empire, and are the dominant form of magic user. Of wizards, theurges re the most common, for reasons that should be obvious.

Non-theurge wizards still have a strong religious bent; different traditions are considered to draw upon and require devotion to different emperors.

Sorcerers are also pretty common, but are culturally encouraged to think of themselves as "favored souls" - not literally the subclass of that name, but believing themselves to have been ordained by the Emperors for a destined purpose.

Artificers mostly pursue the path of the Alchemist.

Whilst quite magically adept, the Aurian Empire favors a more "esoteric" approach to magitek than the Jarill would. For example, an airshield generator made by a jarill would probably be an intricately assembled engine-like affair of mechanical pieces and crystals. The aurian equivalent would be a jade tablet inscribed with prayers to the Emperor of Sky, or a jeweled bonsai tree.


The Aurian Emperors
The Aurian Emperors are demi-divine beings who resemble oriental dragons. Like the Vanadiran Clan-Mothers, they are survivors from "The Lost Age", a previous era of different races that were all but wiped out by some great calamity - sort of akin to 40k's "War in Heaven" (Old Ones vs. Necrons) or the effects of the Reaper Cycle in Mass Effect.

The Emperors collectively wield powerful and unique magical abilities. Each has their own speciality, bt they all share a common aspect to manipulate spiritual energies - the stuff of the soul itself.

That said, the Emperor of Heaven secures total dominion in the empire because this dragon has exclusive access to the ultimate power of soul-magic: the creation of new souls. The Emperor of the Underworld can resurrect and reincarnate, the Emperor of Forest can create new forms of animal and plants, but only the Emperor of Heaven can create completely new, thinking, intelligent beings from nothing. The other Emperors can usually twist and modify races to better suit their dominion, but only the Emperor of Heaven create entirely new races from scratch, as with the Ryujin and the Ki'rinii.

The Emperors are very powerful, but not truly immortal. They rely on a special alchemical formula, "the Elixir Vitae", which sustains and rejuvenates them. They won't die because of missing a dose, but without regular access to it, they would slowly weaken, losing power and vitality.

[Honest Tiefling]

I can't tell if you're joking or not here...

I'm really not. Having a campaign of fighting (or being) 80's punk cat-girl barbarians sounds fun to me!

...You mean, exactly like what I said the standard Phlogiston-drives already accomplish?

Well, yes. I meant the whole suggestion, not the bits of it.

Eh... no, I don't think so. The whole point of Rift-Gates as I created them was to be a safe, stable way of easily getting around the galaxy at high speeds, ala the Mass Relays.

That's not to say they're entirely risk free. After all, you need to guard them against saboteurs; don't want an enemy hacking into your network so they can teleport through your network into your backyard. Or shut the network down. Or destabilize the gates so they turn into black holes, or huge portals to another plane.

Hrm. That does make sense, that they're dangerous already. The more I think about it, I think this is a good idea. Rift Gates would exist, but nowhere near a battlefront or frontier. So you can have your jet-setting space nobles and all of the lovely adventures (which, technically, feel more 60's/70's to me, due to the Bond influence, but close enough?) more that would make, but I doubt many people would want such a thing anywhere near a dangerous place. So, the frontiers are not only dangerous, but take a longer time.

All of the major galactic powers - the Veshy, the Aurians, the Aelfar - they've got their own separate networks.

I wonder, is it possible to hack into the Rift Gates operated by another species? You did mention it, but I'd like to know more about it, since there is a 100% chance a PC will try to do it.

Which is pretty much exactly what I said a few posts above; they're literally Legendary tier loot. You're not getting your hands on one by default unless that's the campaign's key plot hook. The Jarill won't share their tech, nobody else can make them, so you gotta find them.

Which leads to the question of why the Jarill aren't the dominant military force, if they can move around as they please and take what they want. Or why there hasn't been an alliance to secure one.

Pretty sure we established this a couple of pages ago? I think mostly it was to avoid the cliche of mantids practicing sexual and internecine cannibalism.

Which I don't disagree with. Starting to think you should make a google doc, since shifting through several pages is difficult. I'm a crummy writer, so I am not going to offer my sub-par writing skills.

So! Next race! Traggen! I think we need to tackle the first issue, in that their gender politics are quite...Orcish. Perhaps as a suggestion, they have four genders much like the side-botched lizard. (warning: That particular page is SFW, but other pages of that comic are not). See, outsiders just assume all males work as the Alpha (orange) males, as they are the most powerful and the most likely to start raiding other places to get more stuff to have a bigger harem. And most outsiders just assume that the gamma (yellow) males are females. Still quite sexist, but a little less likely to be an assumption of any beliefs on our parts.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

I'm really not. Having a campaign of fighting (or being) 80's punk cat-girl barbarians sounds fun to me!

Oh, cool. I'm glad that you like them so much.

Hrm. That does make sense, that they're dangerous already. The more I think about it, I think this is a good idea. Rift Gates would exist, but nowhere near a battlefront or frontier. So you can have your jet-setting space nobles and all of the lovely adventures (which, technically, feel more 60's/70's to me, due to the Bond influence, but close enough?) more that would make, but I doubt many people would want such a thing anywhere near a dangerous place. So, the frontiers are not only dangerous, but take a longer time.

Precisely. The presence of a Rift-Gate basically denotes a "big city" sort of region. Plus, it plays into the "mysterious and dangerous border countries" feel of the frontiers, you know?

I wonder, is it possible to hack into the Rift Gates operated by another species? You did mention it, but I'd like to know more about it, since there is a 100% chance a PC will try to do it.

Yes, it is possible to hack Rift-Gates. Of course, this is not easy, what with the dedicated 24/7 guards, the layer after layer of protective spells, the inherent difficulty of understanding the underlying spell mechanics and how to tweak them...

Oh, and don't forget that if you screw it up, you have a very real chance of causing the Rift-Gate to destabilize and turn into a black hole whilst you're standing at ground zero.

Which leads to the question of why the Jarill aren't the dominant military force, if they can move around as they please and take what they want. Or why there hasn't been an alliance to secure one.

As I said in my earlier post, teleporting isn't entirely perfect - blind jumps can be fatal, easily. It's a great defensive tool for their WorldShips, but for offensive purposes? Not so much. They're stuck mapping the galaxy out by way of phlogiston sailing, and using teleportation to retrace their steps.

Plus, the biggest reason is that they don't want to. Why would they want to fight wars with anyone? Dead people won't give them money for stuff they make. They don't want to take territory from anybody. War is literally no purpose in their society.

That said, their teleporting abilities do give them a distinct combat edge, which is why no other power has managed to conquer them, despite how enticing having exclusive access to their stuff would be.

Which I don't disagree with. Starting to think you should make a google doc, since shifting through several pages is difficult. I'm a crummy writer, so I am not going to offer my sub-par writing skills.

My internet speed refreshes in about 18 hours, so I do intend to start up a google-doc for this project as a whole... although I would appreciate if you clarify exactly what you think it should be used for, because I have a sneaking suspicion we have different intentions/plans/ideas in mind.

So! Next race! Traggen! I think we need to tackle the first issue, in that their gender politics are quite...Orcish. Perhaps as a suggestion, they have four genders much like the side-botched lizard. (warning: That particular page is SFW, but other pages of that comic are not). See, outsiders just assume all males work as the Alpha (orange) males, as they are the most powerful and the most likely to start raiding other places to get more stuff to have a bigger harem. And most outsiders just assume that the gamma (yellow) males are females. Still quite sexist, but a little less likely to be an assumption of any beliefs on our parts.

I'm not entirely sure we should move on to Traggen just yet. Like I keep saying, maybe it'd be helpful to the project if we actually spent some time putting together and filling out the details for the races we've talked about to this point before charging off to new ones?

That said... I'm not really digging that suggestion, sorry.